Colin David Russ

Mediation

Owner of Colin David Russ t/a CDR

In the Legal 500 UK Guide 2026, where Colin is a Top Tier and Hall of Fame Leading Mediator, the editorial states: “Colin Russ has the people skills and gravitas to manage complex clients and competing demands, particularly during multi-party disputes.”

Editorial in Chambers UK Guide 2026, where Colin has been a Top Ranked Mediator for 14th year in a row, states: “Colin Russ is a pre-eminent commercial mediator with outstanding experience across various sectors.”

Originally qualified as a lawyer, Colin practiced as a commercial litigation lawyer for over 20 years, ultimately as Head of Litigation at the Birmingham office of global law firm DLA Piper. After his interest in the mediation process grew, Colin gained his Mediator Accreditation and left DLA (as it was then) to set up his own mediation practice - Colin David Russ t/a CDR.

Over the last 26 years Colin has built CDR into a thriving, independent commercial mediation practice in the UK. His clients include many of the UK’s top law firms and Colin has considerable expertise in high value multi-party mediations, involving complex multi-issue disputes.

To date, Colin has completed close to 2,000 mediations, with the vast majority of these achieving successful resolution on the day.

Colin has mediated disputes across a broad range of subjects and has developed particular expertise in relation to disputes arising out of: Cladding/Fire Safety Claims, Commercial Contracts, Construction Disputes, Employment Disputes, Financial & Tech Services, Insolvency Issues, Intellectual Property, Professional Negligence, Real Estate and Shareholder/Partnership Disputes.

Highly focused on the quality of the mediation process and to ensure the mediation has the maximum chance of success, Colin guarantees not to accept another mediation appointment the day before or day after an existing mediation commitment. This ring-fenced approach to bookings ensures full preparation ahead of the mediation and allows time to be available the next day, should the mediation overrun.

Colin is known for being one of the most technology-embracing mediators in the UK. He launched CDR Remote at the start of the COVID pandemic. This pioneering service enabled Colin to deliver effective mediation remotely using a secure video conferencing platform. Proving to be hugely popular with both law firms and their clients, even after in-person mediators were allowed again, Colin continues to run many of his mediations online each year.

Colin’s ability to embrace technology doesn’t just stop at online mediations, he also has his availability calendar in real-time on his website. This enables clients to check if he’s available and send a booking request via the website. Plus, he is completely transparent about his fees - clearly listing his rates on the website. Even though Colin has offered these additional services for many years, and they work well for both Colin and his clients, he remains one of only a small handful of meditators to do so.

English